Raiders Mired in Coaching Search

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis took time out from choosing a head coach Saturday to promote assistant coach John Fassel to special teams coordinator.

Fassel, the son of former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel,joined the Raiders two years ago. He essentially sharedresponsibility for Oakland's standout special teams last seasonwith Brian Schneider, who agreed Wednesday to join Pete Carroll inthe same job at Southern California.

Davis still is debating whether to keep interim coach Tom Cable,who went 4-8 and won his final two games after Davis fired LaneKiffin on Sept. 30. Raiders senior executive John Herrera saidSaturday that Davis is "considering talking to one or two moreguys," and should decide whether to pursue those interviews soon.

Only three of Davis' candidates for the top job are known,including Cable. Davis interviewed Giants offensive coordinatorKevin Gilbride on Thursday, and Green Bay Packers assistant headcoach Winston Moss also has spoken to the club.

Fassel's previous contract recently expired along with the dealsof nearly every assistant on Cable's staff, but a large portion ofOakland's assistants has stayed on the job anyway, Herrera said. Ahandful of key coaches have moved on, including offensivecoordinator Greg Knapp (Seattle), defensive coordinator Rob Ryan(Cleveland) and running backs coach Tom Rathman (San Francisco).

Don Martindale, the Raiders' linebackers coach for the past fiveseasons, spoke with Davis on Saturday about becoming Oakland'sdefensive coordinator. Martindale has been pursued by Denver andCleveland to join their new coaching staffs.

The Raiders have lost at least 11 games in each of the past sixseasons, but Cable believes Oakland's strong finish portends betterresults in 2009. Oakland also has the seventh overall pick in theupcoming draft.

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